Today is February 4th and I don't want people to forget about the tragic shooting of an unarmed man named Amadou Diallo. This tragedy took place back in 1999 on 1157 Wheeler Avenue in Bronx, Ny. 10 years have gone by and we still are keeping the memory strong and alive.
Amadou Diallo, was an unarmed West African immigrant with no criminal record. At the age of 22, he was killed on a frigid night of Feb. 4, 1999, by four New York City police officers.
The following officers were: Kenneth Boss, Sean Carroll, Edward McMellon and Richard Murphy. They all acknowledged firing 41 shots that night, but said they thought that Mr. Diallo was carrying a gun. Mr. Diallo, came to America more than two years from Guinea. He also worked as a street peddler in Manhattan. Unfortunately, on that unfaithful night he was hit by 19 bullets, while standing in the doorway of his Bronx apartment building.
The case set off massive protests across the city. It became a flashpoint for heightened frictions between minority leaders and the administration of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.
All four officers who were in plainclothes said " They approached Mr. Diallo because they thought he fit the description of a man wanted in a rape case." Each officer contended that when Diallo pulled out his wallet to show identification they mistook it for a gun.
The officers faced prosecution on second degree murder and other charges, but were acquitted by an Albany jury. Due to concerns over pretrial publicity, the trial had to be moved to Albany.
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